Mr Warburton announcedplans to merge with regional TV affiliate Prime Media on Friday,and a simultaneous agreement to sell a small radio holding to Southern Cross Austereo,as part of a plan to rejuvenate the broadcaster and improve its ability to grow revenue share from national advertisers. Seven's share price jumped 11 per cent to close at 43¢ while Prime's jumped 5.6 per cent to 19¢.
As well asNew Idea,Pacific Magazines publishes titles such asBetter Homes&Gardens,Marie Claire,WHO That's Life!,Australian Home Beautiful,Men's Health,Women's Health,In StyleandGirlfriend.
Seven will use the proceeds of this latest deal to pay down debt,improve its balance sheet and simplify the business to focus instead on content-led growth.
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The Better Homes&Gardenstelevision show will continue production,and the two companies have agreed on advertising spend and the long-term sharing of lifestyle content. Seven will get $6.6 million of advertising on Bauer's assets for three years.
The latest deal means two key competitors will become one. The magazine market has struggled in recent years due to the rise of social media and other websites offering lifestyle content for free and swallowing a growing portion of advertisers'budgets.
Mr Warburton said the sale was part of a plan to improve"balance sheet flexibility".